Ginny S.

I went in for my annual mammogram, which I very nearly had decided not to do this year as I have had no issues for 20 years and did not anticipate any this year. But I had an unexpected day off work In June and decided if I could get scheduled, I would do that instead of wasting the whole day. Thankfully, they had an opening, or I would not have gone and probably would still not know anything was wrong to this day. The moral of this story is do not get complacent. It very nearly cost me everything.

After my appointment, I was diagnosed with DCIS and within three weeks was scheduled for surgery and radiation.

Dr. Jenevieve Hughes with Methodist Hospital in Richardson was my surgeon. She and her staff are the most remarkable and caring people I have met. She took nearly two hours with me that first day going over everything I could possibly need to make a decision on my care. I was offered whole breast radiation and SAVI radiation. I had never heard of SAVI before, but I knew there were new treatments out there. With the size of my cancer and lumpectomy, my doctors thought SAVI would be the best option. I agreed that 5 days sounded so much better than 7 weeks. I also thought it would spare my skin a lot of pain, as I am very fair skinned and burn easily.

Dr. Paul M. DeRose was my radiation oncologist and his team at Methodist Richardson Cancer Center could not be more professional or caring. It was an extremely overwhelming experience but I felt like it was all about me when I was with them. I am so grateful to have had them.

The biggest benefit of having SAVI was the time. No other option is even comparable. As I write this, I would still be in radiation treatment if I had traditional whole breast radiation and I have been finished with my radiation for nearly a month.

I had no complications with the SAVI. It was a tad inconvenient in that you can’t shower and was slightly uncomfortable, but I would not say painful. I was even able to sleep on my side. If my friend had to go through this experience, I would encourage her to do the SAVI treatment. It’s all a little intimidating, but if you can get past that, the benefits are so great. SAVI compared to whole breast radiation, there is no comparison.